Review | Megadeth’s Endgame

Megadeth Endgame

You would think a guy that’s 48 years old, married with children, a born again Christian and enjoys Yoga would have mellowed a bit…Hell no! Dave Mustaine and his band Megadeth’s new album, ‘Endgame‘ is anything but mellow, it’s down right angry and aggresive. With subject matters of politics, gun battles, and war, this is vintage Megadeth.

See Megadeth perform ‘Headcrusher‘ on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon below.

Mustaine and his crew, Chris Broderick (guitar) James LoMenzo (bass) and Shawn Drover are true technicians of their respective instruments, you would have to be to keep up with the Madman of Metal’s frantic song writing. This album is fast and hard, with some serious attitude, Dave Mustaine’s now famous attitude.

The opening song, ‘Dialetic Chaos‘ comes at you full force with guitars a blazin.’ Dave Mustaine and new guitarist, Chris Broderick are melting their fret boards with their lightning fast licks on this instrumental. Here’s what Dave had to say about Chris:

“This new album is my proudest moment since the famous (or infamous) ‘Rust in Peace’ album. With this album, I am also very excited to be introducing my new lead guitarist, Chris Broderick, to the world. I have always felt lucky to have had top shredders in that position, but after touring with Chris in support of my last album, I couldn’t wait to get into the studio and see what he could do.”

Dave Mustaine

Mustaine’s song writing seems to reflect his “I don’t care attitude” meaning no pressure from record executives, no A&R people wanting that next big hit, and Dave not wanting to prove anything to anyone but himself. He claims this is his best work yet.

The album contains political songs like, ‘Nothing Left to Lose‘ about the losses felt in the recession, and ‘Bite the Hand That Feeds‘ dealing with the fiscal irresponsibilities of our financial leaders, and the albums title track, ‘Endgame‘ a direct shot at the Bush administrations bill allowing for the placement of American citizens in detention centers.

Their are songs about war, ‘This Day We Fight‘ and ‘How The Story Ends‘ based on ancient warrior creeds with drums and flag waving. How about a song about Nitro Fuel Funny Car racing, ‘1320‘ (feet) which is the equivalent of a 1/4 mile, the distance of a drag racing track, has that covered. The song ‘44 Minutes‘ is about the infamous bank robbery gone bad in North Hollywood, Ca in 1997. Only once do the boys take a slight break and slow down with ‘The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Sealed With a Kiss.’ And then there’s ‘Headcrusher‘ about a medieval torture device.

Dave Mustaine, one of the pioneers of Thrash Metal has kept the genre going strong. Their have been a few small missteps here and there, but all in all keeping it going better than his contemporaries, Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer. With this being Megadeth’s 12 studio album, Mustaine being the only original member, after all it is his band, Megadeth shows no signs of slowing down.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Favorite Track: Endgame

Endgame Track Listing:
01. Dialectic Chaos (Instrumental) – 2:26
02. This Day We Fight! – 3:27
03. 44 Minutes – 4:37
04. 1,320 – 3:50
05. Bite the Hand – 4:01
06. Bodies – 3:34
07. Endgame -  5:57
08. The Hardest Part of Letting Go… Sealed With a Kiss -  4:42
09. Head Crusher – 3:26
10. How the Story Ends – 4:29
11. The Right to Go Insane – 4:18

One Response to “Review | Megadeth’s Endgame”

1. Simon Gordon says:

   May 23, 2011 at 10:34 am

   It is definitely a good album. Really grew on me.